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Bronco Battalion History

The Early Years:

Although Santa Clara University was established for educational purposes in the arts
and sciences, she had a heritage of asceticism and self-denial that could not be destroyed.
The Jesuits who founded her were conditioned by the spiritual exercises of their soldier
founder, Ignatius of Loyola. Hence, one year after the school was chartered, 1856,
Santa Clara University initiated a military oriented training program.

Due to the outbreak of the Civil War, an official organization of the basic military
unit was established in 1861. The unit was known as the Senior Company of Cadets.
As with the rest of the nation, the Civil War brought on strong feelings for the students
and their families. As a result, parents who sympathized with the Confederacy withdrew
their sons from school, while other young men left Santa Clara to join the Union forces.
By 26 November 1862, the Junior Company of Cadets, consisting of younger classmen,
was established. However, the Junior Division was short lived.

Meanwhile, on 10 September 1863, Leland Stanford, the Governor of California at the
time, presented the Corps of Cadets with forty Springfield rifles, Model 1839. In
return for his generosity, an armory was built in his honor. In 1936, the armory was
located southwest of the athletic field with the pistol range located below the stage
of the auditorium. Today, the rifles are preserved in the University Museum.

The presence of an armory and pistol range present on campus as early as 1863 confirms
that military training was taken seriously. The Senior and Junior Divisions were headed
by Captains Joseph Wiley and James Hayward, respectively. The Corps of Cadets enjoyed
much popularity during the Civil War years and continued to prosper until 1867.

By 1867, since the Civil Was was over, the Junior Division disappeared due to lack
of participation. The Senior Division still continued to function under Captain Ignacio
Malaria.

The Spanish-American War:

The recorded military activities at Santa Clara from 1874 to 1904 are sketchy. Hence,
little information regarding Santa Clara’s participation in the Spanish American War
is known. However, it is known that two Jesuits from Santa Clara, Reverends W. D.
McKinnon and J. P. McQuaide volunteered as Chaplains in the Spanish-American War.
Both men were part of the American Expeditionary Force that was with Theodore Roosevelt
when he made his attack at San Juan Hill on 1 July 1898.

World War I:

The Military Science program at Santa Clara was revived at the outbreak of World War
I. By 1917, the entire campus took on a martial atmosphere. On 13 April 1917, Father
Thornton, the President of Santa Clara University, on behalf of the President and
Board of Trustees, wrote to the Adjutant General of the Army in San Francisco to offer
the War Department the free use of Santa Clara’s halls, classrooms, and laboratories,
and grounds for the purpose of training any units of Army Officers of the Reserve
Corps. Shortly before the 13 April 1917, four companies of unarmed, uninformed students
conducted military drill under Captain (Retired) J. L. Donovan.

During the World War I era, drill was conducted twice a day, once from 1300 to 1400
then from 1535 to 1645. Four companies were formed, which were led by students with
previous military experience. The Government looked very favorably on the letter Father
Thornton wrote, which resulted in uniforms and arms immediately supplied, along with
strong consideration for Santa Clara to become an Officers’ Reserve School. The Government
strongly considered plans to have Santa Clara be conducted on the lines of West Point
as early as the following semester.

Since the students lived on campus, it appeared that the plan was workable. Soon after,
the plan was adopted.

On 11 September 1917, the program gained Army recognition. Santa Clara was to gain
the military distinction of being selected as an Infantry Unit, Senior Division Reserve
Officers’ Training Corps. At the time, Santa Clara was the only institution of learning
in the west that was granted an Officers’ Reserve Training Corps. In 1917, Captain
Donovan was selected as the first Professor of Military Science and Training and subsequently
promoted to Colonel. In 1918, Colonel Donovan was commended for managing the only
institution on the West Coast to have cadets live in barracks and under constant military
discipline, such as that found in cadets from military institutes on the East Coast,
such as Virginia Military Institute and the United States Military Academy. He was
recognized for his achievements in putting together a "good" Students’ Army Training
Corps despite lack of equipment from the War Department.

Post-World War I:

After World War I, the Military Department at Santa Clara became almost non-existent.
Since the war was over, the demand for reserve officers was not high. However, the
program was reestablished by Reverend James J. Lyons, S.J. when he became President
of Santa Clara. Upon being invited by the Army to apply for the establishment of a
Motorized Field Artillery Unit of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at the University
of Santa Clara, Reverend Lyons gladly accepted the invitation. Hence, ROTC as it is
known today at Santa Clara had its beginnings in April 1935. By 16 January 1936, Santa
Clara gained final War Department approval for establishment of a Motorized Field
Artillery Unit. The Unit was established at the beginning of the 1936-1937 school
year. The War Department provided the Military Department at Santa Clara with three
officers and eight enlisted men to train the cadets. Major Ernest T. Barco, Field
Artillery was recommended for the position of Professor of Military Science and Tactics
in order to establish the Unit.

Major Barco reported to the University on 10 March 1936 and immediately set to work.

At the time, Kenna Hall and the Adobe Lodge, in their currently location, were reserved
exclusively for Military Science instruction. Drill was conducted on Stanton Field,
which at the time, was located West of Campbell Avenue and North of Bellomy Street.
Stanton Field was an adjacent field to the area that now contains the flagpole, which
at the time, was used as a place to assemble the corps.

World War II:

The Declaration of War by President Roosevelt in December 1941 caused a significant
outflow of university students into the Army and Navy. By January 1942 the draft called
for more men. Hence, all of Santa Clara’s four classes were represented in every branch
of the service. The senior class had the most number of draftees, all of whom were
regular students at Santa Clara. However, by the new semester on 4 February 1942,
there was only a nine- percent drop in enrollment.

The war greatly affected university life. Detached soldiers on their way to the Pacific
were camped in and around the town of Santa Clara, as well as on campus.

A nationwide civil defense was established, which included the town of Santa Clara.
About ten students were appointed as special air-raid wardens to control public conduct
during the military authorized blackouts. Not only were the students called to arms,
but also seven of the Jesuits teaching at Santa Clara. The Jesuits volunteered to
become chaplains in the service.

In 1941, at Santa Clara, the ordinary academic courses were arranged so that ninety-
percent of the students were engaged in some type of Military Science curriculum throughout
the war. Eighty-one percent took part in the Basic and Advanced Course of instruction
under Colonel Barco and his staff.

On 2 March 1942, in cooperation with the Department of Education, the university opened
up a third session of training. The program of instruction was open to men and women
under Dean George Sullivan, head of the College of Engineering. The courses included
machine design and other essential subjects related to the war effort.

By 1942, a draft deferment program was established to allow men to finish their college
studies prior to serving in the armed forces. The training requirement was then an
hour of military training five days a week.

The caliber of instruction at Santa Clara was superb. From November 1950 to January
1951, as many as twenty-two officers were interviewed for one instructor vacancy.
This practice of screening instructors paid off in the training of the finished product,
the Commissioned Officer. Santa Clara cadets made a tremendous positive impression
wherever they went in military circles. The summer camp training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma,
in 1951, brought forty-five cadets from Santa Clara. Fifty-two schools, including
the Citadel, Texas A&M, Virginia Military Institute, etc., were represented with a
total of 1800 cadets present. When the final evaluations were completed, Santa Clara
came in with the best ratings, to take first place.

Korean War:

As a result of the Korean War, universal military training, conscription, was made
into law by Congress and was largely responsible for the rapid increase in enrollment.
Students studying Military Science were not subjected to the draft, if maintaining
a "C" average or above. As a result, the Military Science Department enjoyed a great
degree of popularity.\

Post-Korean War:

In 1954 a General Military Science curriculum replaced the Field Artillery ROTC program.
For freshman and sophomore men, participation in ROTC was mandatory. However, as an
upper classmen, ROTC was optional.

By the 1964-1965 school year, the University of Santa Clara adopted the "Santa Clara
Plan," which allowed lower division students to receive four term courses per term
and upper division students to receive three term courses per term. Academic credit
for Military Science was given only for one lower division (freshmen) term course
and one upper division (senior) term course. These two term courses were accepted
as part of the forty-two courses required for graduation. One year of Military Science
for all physically and otherwise qualified students was also a requirement for graduation.
However, by 1968, ROTC was optional for everyone.

In 1973, Santa Clara ROTC admitted women to its program by Congressional decree. Then,
in February 1974, the University Academic Curriculum committee voted unanimously to
grant full academic credit, applicable toward fulfillment of graduation requirements,
for all courses offered by the Department of Military Science.

Declining Years (1960s-1970s):

The first collective outward sign of anti-war movements began in the early fall of
1967, when a group of committed and determined activists in Boston organized a rally
for 16 October 1967. They declared that on "that day a few thousand young men across
the country will make a complete break with the draft system. . . . From that day
on, they will work to disrupt the operation of the Selective Service and the armed
forces until the United States withdraws from Vietnam. . . . The Resistance begins
on October 16. It will not stop until the war is over." The Boston rally attracted
more than 200 men who were willing to risk five years in prison by burning or turning
in their draft credentials. In New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Minneapolis,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and dozens of other cities across the country
held similar and simultaneous demonstrations as that organized in Boston. A total
of a thousand draft cards were collected and returned to the Justice Department, while
hundreds went up in flames.

The initial rally on 16 October launched a movement that ultimately drew 4000 draft-age
men into open revolt against a system that had provided soldiers for several previous
wars. The movement's aim was to cripple the military conscription for the Vietnam
War through public renunciation of the draft system. Potential draftees were encouraged
to not register for Selective Service and to publicly return or destroy the draft
cards.

Although the movement was well organized and had a strong self justifying ideology,
as well as a collective sense of purpose, it was short lived. Following the protests
in October 1967, similar demonstrations were orchestrated every few months across
the country through the spring of 1968, when the movement began to falter. By the
end of 1968, the resistance movement had declined so much that draft card collections
had ceased in many areas and a number of resistance offices had closed. However, the
number of individuals refusing induction were increasing at a steady rate, and later
events connected with the Vietnam conflict, such as the 1970 invasion of Cambodia
by the United States, brought sporadic outbreaks of collective attacks on the draft.

Public declarations of resistance to conscription were the most visible part of the
movement. Local resistance organizations took this opportunity to increase membership
and to undermine the war effort. Their recruitment and undermining tactics included:
demonstrations, draft counseling, sanctuaries for deserters and AWOL soldiers, direct
action against induction centers and draft boards, establishment of anti draft unions,
and educational forums.

Santa Clara, like the rest of nation, was not immune to the student unrest and campus
disruptions. However, the students never reached the level of intensity that it did
elsewhere. United States intervention in Cambodia in the spring of 1970 received the
greatest number of protests at Santa Clara. Demonstrations on campus took the form
of class boycotts, teach-ins, and anti-war rallies. Santa Clara indirectly shut its
doors when Governor Ronald Reagan ordered the closure of colleges and universities
of the state for two days to ease tensions. By shutting down the university, Santa
Clara administrators sought to avoid confrontation when students from nearby state
schools planned to demonstrate at Santa Clara to force its closure.

When classes resumed, tension mounted again. The focus this time was on the president's
annual review and award ceremony for ROTC. About 75 student and faculty demonstrators
carried placards declaring, "Off ROTC", "Stop the War Machine," and "Get Out of Southeast
Asia," while a group of about twenty protesters walked onto Stanton Field and lay
down in the path of the parading cadets. This event was highly publicized. The photographs
of the parading cadets stepping over prone students was publicized all over the world,
from West Berlin to Bangkok and from New Zealand to New England.

A few weeks later, James Alberson, the academic vice-president, announced the spring
term would end a week early to "minimize tensions for students and faculty." The dissent
among the student body also led to the first time in which commissioning was not a
part of commencement at Santa Clara.

Meanwhile, a faculty poll was taken on two ROTC related issues. Out of 190 members,
106 to 52 voted in favor of keeping ROTC on campus, while 98 to 49 voted to retain
academic credit currently granted to military science courses. However, 117 to 36
voted to discontinue commissioning at commencement.

Beyond anti military sentiments, the issue of keeping ROTC on campus and of granting
academic credit for military science courses were also highly debated at the time.
Critics feared that the existence of ROTC on campus would undercut the independence
and sovereignty of a free university. However, supporters pointed out that banishment
of ROTC undercut the freedom of choice of students interested in participating in
ROTC. In 1969, although faculty members of Stanford University had already voted to
end academic credit for military training and education, there was still some debate.
In the mean time, Santa Clara and other schools across the nation, like Harvard and
Yale had not yet finalized their decision.

On April 28, 1969, in an attempt to placate some of the demands of militant students
and dissatisfied faculties, the Pentagon announced three compromises to the ROTC programs
across the nation. The compromises altered military courses to make them more compatible
to the regular academic curriculum. The goal of the changes was to remove academic
objections to the military science curriculum. The three compromises included: (1)
shifting some of the military training from the campus to summer encampments at military
installations; (2) employing more civilian instructors as opposed to military officers
in ROTC courses, while up-grading the caliber of the military instructors; and (3)
eliminating some technical courses, while making others more general by removing the
emphasis on military matters. However, the compromises were not meant to alter the
opinions of those who opposed the Vietnam War or the military in general.

At the time of the debates in 1969, 25,727 officers were newly commissioned into the
Army, with 16, 415 from ROTC programs across the nation. Regardless of the demonstrations,
nationwide, the number of newly Army commissioned officers in 1969 exceeded the numbers
from 1968, 14,176, and from 1967, 10,727. However, during the five years following
1969, the number of institutions with compulsory ROTC courses decreased from 132 to
95 and the total enrollment dropped from 159,849 to 150,982. The drop in enrollment
was due to the decreased number of schools with compulsory ROTC programs. At Santa
Clara, in September of 1969, there were 280 cadets including 70 freshmen and in January
of 1970, there were 244 enrolled cadets. In October 1970, there were only 24 newly
enrolled freshman, which fell short of the standard minimum of 25 graduating officers
each year at Santa Clara.

In 1971, student election results showed that out of 1352 votes, 911 students voted
to retain ROTC at Santa Clara, while 927 students voted for the continuation of giving
academic credit for military science courses that already granted credit. With the
aforementioned statistic, students tended to favor ROTC. In an example where Stanford
faculty voted to abolish credit for military courses without allowing student input,
students demanded that administrators retain voluntary ROTC courses, as well as retaining
some credit value to the courses. This was the first student referendum in the nation
concerning the issue of dissolving ROTC academic courses.

Since the 1980s, public attitudes about ROTC have turned around. ROTC programs have
regained respect. More students are enrolled and completing the programs as standards
have risen. ROTC enrollment peaked at about 181,000 cadets in 1962-63 as students
sought to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam as enlisted men. By 1974, ROTC enrollment
plummeted to 39,346 as the United States withdrew from Vietnam and the Selective Service
draft ended. However, resurgence began in 1976 when women were first commissioned
as officers in the Army as opposed to the Women Army Corp. Despite higher standards,
enrollment in ROTC increased steadily in the early 1980s with increased scholarship
funds. By 1988-89 academic year, there were 63,000 cadets.

In an effort to spread the word about the improvements in ROTC, the Army hired the
New York-based firms of Young & Rubicam and Burson-Marsteller to develop a two-year
advertising and publicity campaign. The results were substantial. A Burson-Marsteller
survey in 1989 showed that 6,000 corporate managers showed positive ratings for ROTC
by more than 90% of respondents. Fox-Morris Associates, Inc., and employment consulting
firm, says corporate requests for ROTC graduates have risen 15% from 1988 to 1989.
The trend seen at the end of the 1980s continues favorable in the 1990s. Most companies
feel that ROTC graduates make better hiring prospects than the average college graduate.
The consensus is that cadets are generally brighter, better disciplined, more mature,
and tend to advance faster in corporate careers. Therefore, although ROTC is still
opposed by anti military activists and those who feel that ROTC is contrary to academic
institutions’ stance on homosexuality, ROTC is still seen in a more positive light
today than in the 1960s and 1970s.